How Recruiters Can Deal with Bad Glassdoor Reviews

Hiring new talent comes with different challenges in a post-2020 world. Potential employees are more concerned than ever about their work environments. If a company doesn’t have the right work culture, no one wants to work there. 

This is why bad glassdoor reviews might feel like an attack if you’re a recruiter. Your whole job revolves around bringing people into the company. And bad glassdoor reviews might seem like a huge hurdle in recruiting talent.

We know it can be stressful to ensure you have the right people in place to keep the business growing. We’ve worked with companies who have struggled with employee turnover to the point where it looked like they wouldn’t be able to stay in business. They just couldn’t find people who would want to work for their company. 

By seeing bad reviews and problems with hiring as opportunities to learn and change, these companies were able to drastically improve their employee retention rate to 95%. They became companies where people actually want to work. 

The impulse response to a bad glassdoor review might be that it is going to make your job a lot more difficult. However, you can use bad reviews to your advantage in the hiring process. Here, we’ll examine three steps you can choose to take as a recruiter if your company has bad glassdoor reviews:

1. Brief the executive team and allow them to respond.
2. Tell potential employees about the reviews.
3. Open up a conversation about changes the company is making to the work culture.

Bad reviews don’t need to feel like the end of your job. You can use them to create an even better experience for potential employees in the hiring process.

1. Make Sure the Executive Team is Aware and Responds

As soon as you see a bad review, make sure the executive team knows about it. Don’t try to hide it or pretend it doesn’t exist. And definitely don’t send other people on your team to create a slew of positive reviews to average out the bad review. It might seem like a good idea to try to bury the review, but people reading will know what is authentic, what is contrived, and if a review is being made just to make up for a bad one.

Glassdoor allows employers to respond to an employee review. It’s best if someone from the executive team can respond to a bad glassdoor review. Or, if the review mentions anyone specifically, it’s helpful if they respond as well. 

You can guide them to craft a response that acknowledges and thanks the reviewer for what they brought to light for the company. Instead of making lofty promises that may or may not be true, it’s best to not identify the plan of action. However, thanking the reviewer for their courage in coming forward and bringing awareness to issues at the company shows the company is open to improving.

2. Acknowledge Bad Reviews in Interviews

Don’t let potential employees find bad glassdoor reviews on their own. Point them out. This might seem counterintuitive, but it is a major step in building trust with job candidates.

When someone comes in that you are trying to recruit, tell them to look at the company’s reviews on glassdoor. Let them know that there are some bad reviews out there. Being transparent and honest with potential employees will establish a foundation of trust. Instead of hiding bad reviews and hoping no one will find them, being upfront about it might end up being a selling point for potential employees.

3. Address Changes Being Made to the Company

After you point out that there are bad reviews about your company, tell the potential employees what the company is doing to make changes. 

The perfect company doesn’t exist. So no one in the hiring process is expecting your company to be perfect. In fact, if there is too much emphasis on the company being perfect it might cause someone to think you’re hiding something. It might not be immediately obvious, but, if you’re not being forthcoming about the company culture, potential employees will sense something is off.

What people do want to work for a company that will learn and grow. People want a company that is willing to acknowledge problems and evolve. If the company is willing to learn and make changes, it gives space for employees to do the same. And this will pull people in. 

Bad Glassdoor Reviews Can Be an Opportunity in Recruiting

As a recruiter, your primary concern is making sure your company is staffed with the top talent. But who wants to work for a company that has bad reviews from former employees? 

Sites like glassdoor might seem like your worst enemy - especially if your company has bad reviews. But highlighting these reviews in your interviews with potential employees can make for a better hiring process.

Every company has issues. What employees want is to know that a company will face those issues head on and make improvements. When you address bad reviews right away, you start to build trust with the other person. And you can start a conversation about how the company uses feedback on glassdoor to become a better workplace.

If you feel like your company could use some help with turning your work culture around, we are here for you. Use the button below to fill out a form for a business consultation. We look forward to seeing what’s possible for your company.